Tales of Spirits and Triggers
by Zemptai
Summary: (Tags: TODG, Cultivation, AU) When Yuma Kuga sustains a life-threatening head injury his adoptive father sacrifices his life to save him. He gained access to a past life of memories after the head trauma. He inherited both his father's trigger and side effect amidst an identity crisis. Conflicted, he decides to follow in his father's footsteps at least until rediscovering himself.
1. Chapter 1

**Article 1 - Chapter 1 - Casualties of Circumstance**

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┬┴┬┴┤ _**テイルズオブスピリッツとトリガ **_├┬┴┬┴

**-Accepting Beta readers/ Editors! Hit me up with a PM-**

_**(Remember to include the stories name in your message)**_

_Disclaimer: I do not own __**World Trigger **__or __**Tales of Demons and Gods **__which heavily inspired this story. Those intellectual properties are owned by __**Daisuke Ashihara **__and__** Mad Snail **__respectively._

_Warning: This story is __**VERY A.U.**__ The world, history, combat mechanics, characters, and much more diverge heavily from the main and secondary source material. To be honest, this story is more of a cross-over / original work that borrows characters and concepts. If A.U. isn't your cup of tea, this story isn't for you._

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┬┴┬┴┤ _**テイルズオブスピリッツとトリガ **_├┬┴┬┴

**(* Helpful Info to those coming from WT/ToDG fandoms *)**

_(skip to chapter start if you don't care)_

_**TL:DR Background Info** \- The cultivation ranks have been adjusted by me to add another and rename one I personally loath. Not sure why Black Gold is the only rank that's two words in ToDG's earthly realm. The ranks are as follows…_

_**Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Legend** (Demigod is an unofficial rank meaning 5-star Legend rank.)_

_Each rank is further subdivided into 5 stars. As the number of stars gets higher, the more Qi they possess and the closer they are to ranking up. These ranks apply to both your personal cultivation level and any spirit beast used wether its a contracted spirit beast locked inside a person's dantian or a spirit beast installed in a trigger._

_A spiritualist cultivator's strength is roughly = (their personal rank + spirit's rank / 1.5)_

_(Example: Personal - 4-star silver, Spirit - 1-star diamond = Platinum 1 star relative strength)_

_Also, IK Tales of Demons and God's doesn't really have a vast difference in people's starting points, but in this story, it's possible to innately have different cultivation ranks to begin with._

_(Example: below Bronze 1 star, Silver 2 star, Gold 4 star, ect… This means that the strong won't exclusively be the elderly who've had a lifetime to cultivate, but can be achieved by young blessed talents as well.)_

_I took the idea of the Neighborhood from World trigger and created humongous domed cities called 'Mega-domiciles.' Each city is like its own country built to shield it from outside attacks from spirits and spiritualists._

_The trigger system is relatively the same except for 2 main changes. Instead of Trion, the life energy used is Qi/Soul force. Also, each Trigger can be equipped with a spirit trapped in an imprisonment crystal or can remain empty to only use your own Qi, or if there is a contracted spirit inside of you, you can draw upon that for Qi._

_Apart from the 2 active tracks with 4 trigger slots each to pick from, people's spirits will also allow for a special ability that can be used in conjunction with the active trigger from each track. This means that a total of 8 triggers and a spirit can be installed in a trigger, and 2 triggers (one from each track) and the spirit ability can be used simultaneously._

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┬┴┬┴┤ **Prologue** ├┬┴┬┴

┬┴┬┴┤ _**テイルズオブスピリッツとトリガ **_├┬┴┬┴

The noose tightened around Zenith's neck. He knew his fate was as good as sealed despite his frantic attempt to slip his pursuers.

His feet slapped against the pavement in rapid succession ducking and weaving through the evening crowd before making a turn off route.

Babylon's most elite unit loyal only to the royal family codenamed _the black death_ was the country's greatest and most accomplished operative group. They specialized in the assassination of traitors to the crown.

The elder had a thin fragile build, a bleached stringy beard, and a pair of tired azure eyes that were pulled together into a cold razor-sharp focus.

The frame job against him was damning. So convincing that there wasn't likely to be an interrogation.

_If I can't escape only a swift execution awaits me._

"_**Dammit! I'm a humble scholar and educator, not a traitor!"**_

Zenith could not be considered an effective combatant by any stretch of the imagination unless compared to civilians. His personal cultivation still hadn't broken into Platinum despite his 90 years of life, a wide nearly inexhaustible array of alchemic supplements, and access to many of the most powerful cultivation techniques available in the great city of Babylon.

Given the resources, knowledge, and the time invested into personal progression were the same that he was blessed with, most people could have stepped up into the Diamond cultivation rank or perhaps even the pinnacle level of cultivators, the illustrious rank of Legend.

His lack of success didn't stem from a faulty work ethic but inferior genetics. His meridian network was deformed leading to numerous complications.

"_**If I could do it all over, I'd never have taken that wolf in sheep's clothing as my apprentice."**_

The walls closed in on him at the moment he finished passing on the extent of his knowledge to the real traitor Kuro.

Kuro was recently named Zenith's successor to the position of chief director, the second-highest seat of authority in the Alchemy Association only below the president.

After that, the trap was sprung in no time in order to claim the position before Zenith formerly stepped down which likely would have taken years.

A heavy cloak fluttered behind the man escaping for his life down side-streets in the twilight hours of the Borsippa district. The setting sun cast cryptic shadows cascading across the city.

"_**If I survive... I'll make sure someone murders that backstabbing bitch."**_ The fleeing man mumbled in a rasping pant.

The distinct flap of wings sounded overhead forcing Zenith to duck under an awning hoping to bypass the aerial scout.

Woosh, woosh, WOOSH, WOOSH, woosh, woosh…

The gigantic draconic spiritualist whizzed overhead and past continuing his search.

Zenith let out a winded sigh, his old heart thrashing in his chest with ferocious intensity. He was lucky there was cover he could hide beneath so closeby or certainly he'd have been discovered.

Running out from beneath the cover, he hugged the wall following it until arriving at a cross-street. Peeking his head out to get a glance at the surroundings, he confirmed that the street was clear of visible pursuers.

"_**Eeerghh."**_

The alarm blared inside the mind of the elder. His hand shot to his chest wrapping around a black spike protruding from it. The spike retracted out of his chest cavity all the while blood poured out of the gaping wound.

"_**Rats sure are adept at scurrying aren't they?" **_A new distinct feminine voice called out.

With each pump of his heart, a new warm spurt of crimson bubbled out oozing down the inside of his shirt pooling at his waistband.

A black shifting wraith with yellow slits for eyes measured two feet tall from its point of materialization to its head. Its arms were sharpened shapeshifting blades that at the moment resembled two wheat scythes half sticking out of the closest building's shadow.

The elder called forth his contracted spirit, the possession causing him to undergo a metamorphosis. Skin hardened and cracked along his entire body turning a combination of dark brown and ash white. Several branches sprouted out twisting and curling into four appendages taking on the appearance of arms and legs.

"_**Senior Grandmaster, I've always found your Heavenly Dryad spirit to be one of incredible beauty. It's a shame such a rare and powerful spirit contracted with a powerless traitor. Know that It pains me to have to do this. It really does..."**_

_NO! My only hope is to kill her quickly while her form is still material before backup arrives._

The elder's vision fuzzed over with a static-like distortion. His heavy loss of blood had started taking its toll on him.

Roots whipped from the ground lashing and wrapping around the humanoid shadow. A hairy caramel root constricted around the woman's throat strangling her before she could react.

Or not. With a burst of Qi, the roots were blasted off her like she was a detonating explosive ripping them off the dryad and launching the thickened rhizomes into the two surrounding mortar walls. Cracks tore up and down the length of the walls branching out for several meters.

"_**Laughable to think a Gold ranked cultivator believes they could challenge someone like myself who stands at the peak of all spiritualists. Have you gone senile after all? Let me show you what a Legend is capable of."**_

_It's truly hopeless… This is how it ends? After all the struggling to fight past my limits. All the time researching and experimenting. All the advancements I made for my country and they send their dogs to hunt me down without hesitation._

The elder could never live the life he wanted, so he lived vicariously through the people around him. He always dreamed of becoming the hero of the battlefield, but all he could manage was earnestly giving himself to discovering new procedures to strengthen the next generation that came after him. To give them all a paved path those of his country could walk with greater certainty.

_But what hurts the worst is they'll probably scrub me from the history books and give my accomplishments to my fucking apprentice._

The Dryad's legs gave out beneath him, gravity forcing him to his hands and knees. The stumpy head of the spiritualist angled to the sky as if asking the heavens a single question.

_Why_?

A flash of black tore across the air, an elongated shadow rending the stumpy head clean off the neck of the dryad.

The spiritual possession dissolved leaving the man slumped in a crumpled heap still hemorrhaging blood from his chest.

His final breath expelled from his lungs. His physical body that had returned after the destruction of his spiritualist form convulsed and shivered. The shadow in a flash slashed out painting a thin crimson line on the cracked mortar wall behind him. Zenith's head slid down the slope of the severed neck lubricated by a fountain of goopy red.

The wraith untransformed adopting the appearance of a petite woman in her mid-twenties. The mouth of the woman curved into freakish and savage ecstasy while her eyes twinkled. Her black glistening locks were straightened out with the flick of her neck.

She grabbed the severed head by the hair tossing it into a burlap sack popping into existence from an inter-spatial storage ring.

"_**Another day, another successful mission."**_

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┬┴┬┴┤ **Chapter 1** ├┬┴┬┴

┬┴┬┴┤ _**テイルズオブスピリッツとトリガ **_├┬┴┬┴

**(400+ Years Later)**

A fair-skinned, black-headed teen tapped his foot of impatience while keeping an eye on his timepiece.

His hair was a bowl of shag draped around his head. The bangs parted into three segments running down the sides of each of his eyes, and the last tuft of hair falling between his eyes to his nose. The boy's pair of focused euphoric red pupils heatedly locked on the entrance of the spiritual rift.

A spiritual rift is a space between our world and the spirit world. The entrance to these anomalies of nature could be summarized as a portal-like gateway. These portals bridge our material world with space that has been shattered and detached from the spirit realm.

Yugo Kuga, this boy's father, is a spiritual hunter battalion commander who craved to uncover the truths of the world. On several occasions, he was known to explain in great detail his hypotheses to his men who too thirsted for knowledge.

One of these hypotheses was that the gateways to these disconnected and segmented spaces that appear in our world of Miden are caused by spirits who contained an abundance of Qi determined to fight their way out of exile.

"_**Father thinks this rift holds too many strong spirit beasts for me to be safe? He's just an old worrywart. Besides, by now they would have cleared a path for me and I could maybe still catch up for some of the action…" **_he said in contemplation.

Yuma Kuga found the risk of disobeying orders to be minimal. And besides, a frontline fighter was forced to be exposed to some risk.

_Don't think your parents are always right. _The quote from his father's mouth replaying in his head helped to cement his resolve.

With that, the doubt in his mind vanished replaced with the sentiment of heroism burning in his soul.

He clenched a black gripped metallic device with a fastening screw in its center in his dominant hand.

_What if they are in trouble right now? If I join, I might prevent a few deaths or at least some spiritual dissolutions. I could be a hero._

Yuma's eyes were still transfixed on the gateway separating himself from his father and his comrades in arms. He nodded his head in acceptance of his decision before announcing with a stern conviction unbecoming of his age:

"_**Trigger on!"**_

The boy's body burst into shimmering light, his physical body being replaced by one made entirely of soul force (also known as Qi).

Yuma's clothing morphed into his father's spiritual hunter battalion uniform.

Taking a leap of faith he plunged into the gate, his form swallowed by the gelatinous doorway to the unnatural.

Yuma was ejected in a new area on the other side of the gate.

The place was dimly lit. His feet splashed in little puddles on the slick ground. High humidity was in the air alongside the musky scent of mold.

Rocky cavernous walls domed the whole place closing it off into a wide tunnel.

Drip...drip...drip

Yuma admired the state of the corpses from the fallen spiritual beasts his father's unit no doubt had slain.

The dead spirit beasts were most likely lower quality creatures that wouldn't be worth trapping in an imprisonment crystal.

Round pieces of glass with the resemblance of marbles littered the floor. Some of them were cracked and broken, others held spiritual beasts captured and imprisoned inside. These objects were none other than imprisonment crystals.

The boy continued down the tunnel in haste. He split his attention between the radar screen displaying the location of his unit and swiveling his head around to keep strong awareness of his surroundings.

A chill ran down his spine. The hair on his neck stiffened and stood up.

Yuma kicked backward from the ground into a backflip off pure instinct.

This sharpened instinct combatant's sometimes referred to as the sixth-sense or a gut feeling.

A monstrous heft shook the ground, dust blown in a wave out from in front of him.

Slender lightweight pale yellow-tinted Qi blades materialized in each hand of the youth glowing like a neon light. Someone versed in trigger configurations would know this weapon's name as Scorpion.

His feet touched down with confidence despite the wet and slick surface.

Shuffling to the side, he stuck a foot behind a rock, reared his other leg back, and unleashed a solid kick to the rock. The top of the foot carried the stone into the air sailing forward before it bounced off something invisible rickashaying back.

_Protect yourself by yourself._

Having identified and confirmed the location of the invisible enemy, Yuma took a small hop forward swinging a sword through the air.

The sword in his off-hand disappeared while the one mid-swing shapeshifted extending out lashing like a whip. The blade stretched to its durability limit of 15 meters slicing through the air, the tip of the weapon accelerating much faster than the hilt in Yuma's hand.

"_**Chuuuukkkkk!"**_

A line of flesh opened up, the cut sprayed blue shimmering fluid against the rocky surface of the ground and wall. The spirit's vital fluids hissing against the cool temperature of each surface like newly cracked eggs in a searing hot frying pan.

Floating eyes appeared mid-air.

_The invisible creature must have given up on its pure stealth to instead make a stand with force. _

The wound continued spilling blue fluid out pooling underneath those huge black dilated pupils.

A stream of steaming gunk shot out from the eye of the beast like a speeding bullet, the body of the spirit appearing faintly yet still held transparency.

The blood converted to vapor from the temperature and exposure to air, blue-tinted Qi filling the room like smog.

Yuma deactivated his scorpion pushing out two shields in front of him to block the surprisingly thick torrent of fluid.

Yuma fought against the stream pushing back with both shields holding it at bay, but the torrent continued and continued ceaselessly.

The fluids ate through the shield leaving corrosive holes for it to splash onto his body.

"_**En!"**_

Pain might have been dulled by the trigger down to 15% of its maximum capacity, but having your skin cook, even if that skin was part of an artificial body, was unpleasant.

Yuma retreated with juking movements, The stream finally trickled to a stop allowing him a moment of reprieve.

The fluid wasn't just hot, it also devoured Qi disintegrating it evident by the breakdown of his body were the fluid made contact.

Qi began flowing out of him like a dam that had a hole. The cream-colored light began filling the air around him, scorpion filling in the gaps in an attempt to plug the holes reducing Qi loss.

_This spirit's abilities are overwhelming. It must be at least Platinum leveled!_

Scorpion acting like a band-aid should allow Yuma the opportunity to finish up the fight before his combat body dissolved and left him defenseless. The keyword here being 'should'.

The scorpion patchwork was devoured by the gluttonous sludge unleashing another wave of his soul force to escape.

The boy's darkest fears were realized. His spiritual possession dissolved leaving him alone and defenseless.

Now back in his flesh and blood, he made a B-line with all of his strength out the way he entered. He needed to retreat until the group could come back to slay the beast. He understood it's combat power far surpassed his own better now than anyone.

He sent out a silent prayer to the heavens that he would make it out of this, but before the thought could be finished a heft crashed into his back launching him side-ways.

His body impacted the wall with a monstrous force. His head whipped whacking into the wall with a _**CRACK**_.

The boy writhed on the ground in torment. Clenching his teeth, he struggled upright pushing himself up with his jittering hands.

_It's not… the end yet._

With heavy disjointedness, Yuma found himself again on his feet. He trudged forward, each step was a true merit of accomplishment.

The world quaked underfoot leaving his footing unsteady.

His balance was all off, forcing him to over adjust to the left or right constantly in an attempt to stay upright like a hopeless drunkard.

Black and white splotches appeared in his vision.

A loud shrill screeching ring assaulted his ears, and instinctively his hands flew to them trying to shut out the noise.

The noise continued just as loud, nothing helping to dial it down.

A miscalculated footstep left him stumbling to a knee.

His head felt like it would split open from the pain. If his artificial skin cooking before was 15%, this was 150%.

A throbbing pulsating sensation repeated in a loop where the left side of the head made contact with the wall. When Yuma pulled his hands back from his ears in a scramble for survival, in his wholehearted wish of retreat, they were warm and stained red.

Terrified he patted the left side of his head discovering a leaking hole no less than 3 fingers wide.

Energy sapped from his body, he collapsed to the ground like a puppet with their strings cut.

_There's more than one answer. Things can be resolved in many ways. But on the contrary, there's no answer in some cases… _

"_**There's nothing… S-sorry dad."**_

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┬┴┬┴┤ _**テイルズオブスピリッツとトリガ **_├┬┴┬┴

_**A/N:**__ This project is a little experiment I thought about doing with taking elements of the two source stories I love and combining them with my own original idea for a story with some creative and quality of life tweaks. I'm curious how this will even land as World Trigger's community is pretty small and I somehow doubt theirs much of a demand for a story like this. I'd really appreciate some feedback from anyone who reads this deep to give me some opinions on what you think so-far. I'll be attaching a comments section to the next chapter to answer anyone's questions which will be a good resource since I bet several of you will be wondering the same things._

_PS: Currently undecided whether or not to add TODG characters to the mix (lemme know what you guys think), but SEVERAL World Trigger characters will show up even if I only tagged Yuma as a character upon publishing. I'll tag more as they are added._

**Reviewer Question: - How did you find this story and which fandom did you come from?**

_..._


	2. Chapter 2

**Article 2 - Chapter 2 - Awakening and Second Chances**

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┬┴┬┴┤ _**テイルズオブスピリッツとトリガー**_

**-Accepting Beta readers/ Editors! Hit me up with a PM-**

_**(Remember to include the stories name in your message)**_

_**A/N: I went ahead and put some background information at the beginning of chapter 1 to help people who are fans of World Trigger / Tales of Demons and Gods and want to have an idea of the things I've changed to alleviate some confusion. In the end, these things aren't necessary and will be addressed throughout the story. Thanks.**_

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┬┴┬┴┤ **テイルズオブスピリッツとトリガー** ├┬┴┬┴

_**(Last Chapter: Excerpt)**_

A throbbing pulsating sensation repeated in a loop where the left side of the head made contact with the wall. When Yuma pulled his hands back from his ears in a scramble for survival, in his wholehearted wish of retreat, they were warm and stained red.

Terrified he patted the left side of his head discovering a leaking hole no less than 3 fingers wide.

Energy sapped from his body, he collapsed to the ground like a puppet with their strings cut.

_There's more than one answer. Things can be resolved in many ways. But on the contrary, there's no answer in some cases… _

"_**There's nothing… S-sorry dad."**_

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┬┴┬┴┤ **Chapter 2** ├┬┴┬┴

┬┴┬┴┤ **テイルズオブスピリッツとトリガー** ├┬┴┬┴

A battalion of men back from the depths of the spiritual rift poured into the open space from beyond the passages bend. The one taking the lead had mid-length spiky black hair. The air of excitement and glory wafted from the lot of battle-tested veterans as they rushed this way and that looting the imprisonment crystals and alchemic reagents from the spirit beast carcasses and plant life.

"_**Spread out and collect the imprisonment crystals. Make sure to get them all!"**_ Yugo commanded his men. _**"I'll go fetch my boy, He'll be getting impatient right about now."**_

Adoration leaked from the men. Their haul this time was pretty good so spirits were quite high.

"_**The general's drinks are on us when we get back! Right men?!"**_ A man shouted. He had a badge on his uniform displaying the rank of lieutenant.

"_**I'll pitch in. A night of drinking can't break the bank after a haul like this!"**_ A voice shouted.

"_**Yes. A celebration is in order and the commander will be the man of the hour if I have anything to say about it."**_

Everyone around murmured in agreement, Yugo's lips pulling apart revealing a charismatic smile.

"_**If my unit is treating me, I guess I'll just drink you all under the table! That's a promise boys."**_

As Yugo pulled away, he heard the hearty laughter and bullshitery.

Picking up his pace, he broke into a run zooming through the cleared cave at superhuman speed. His toes pushed off the floor thrusting him forward 15-20 meters at a time.

_Hmm? This wasn't here before, was it?_

His pace slowed as he gandered at all the fresh blue blood pooled along the cavern floor and dripping down the walls.

A wave of unease washed over Yugo.

_Yuma..._

He bolted onwards at heightened speeds, rounded a corner, and a loud crash rang out.

Yugo with an arm extended held out a Qi shield formed by his trigger. It caught a heavy strike from a camouflaged hostile before it could reach him.

Leaning and leveraging his power into his legs, he shoved the invisible monstrosity, pushing it back further and further until trapping it against the wall in an awe-inspiring display of force.

Blue ooze sprayed out splashing the shield and one of his feet.

_**Hsssssss.**_

Clutching the black weaponized tech in his palm, he channeled more of his Qi to the instrument.

The shield vanished dematerializing due to the swap between actively used triggers.

From Yugo's body burst numerous beams of solid pale yellow-tinted Qi extending and retracting in a controlled yet awe-inspiring onslaught.

Scaley severed arms, legs, and chunks of meat seemed to materialize mid-air robbed of their transparency.

The damage was too critical to continue upholding its camouflage, the beast phased into vision. The green scales of the chameleon appeared before Yugo only giving him an easier target. A final lash of his scorpion tore through the eyes and head of the creature vanquishing it.

The beast bent over collapsing to the damp stone ground lifelessly.

Glancing down, He noticed his foot being devoured from what must have been a spiritual toxin.

A line of pale yellow-tinted light flashed and disappeared so quickly it could cause people to question whether they imagined it.

His foot was severed from the body. A new foot spawned from Qi using the Scorpion trigger appearing in the lost appendages place. It acted both as a functional replacement to re-enable mobility as well as a way to prevent further soul force from being lost.

The man's heart sunk in his chest, it was as if his stomach swallowed it whole.

His trigger slipped from his grip falling to the floor.

Yugo's body reverted to flesh and blood, the uniform replaced by khaki pants held up by a belt paired with a grey sleeveless undershirt.

"_**No… Yuma, can you hear me?"**_

He fell to his knees before his son flipping him over and checking his vitals.

He was getting cold to the touch. Yuma's lips were already blue.

…_**...thump…**_

_He still has a pulse. It's weak. He could die any minute._

"_**You fool. Defeated so easily?"**_ The father said, pulling his son into his embrace with a smile. _**"I'll save you son, Don't worry."**_

A scroll popped into the man's hand from his inter-spatial ring.

Yugo's smile widened. His heart was at ease knowing that Yuma could still be saved. A deep conviction flowed through him as he activated the scroll in his grasp.

"_**[Inscription array: Infusion of Life]"**_

Lifeforce poured from father to scroll and then to the boy.

Yugo's skin became paler over mere seconds.

Yuma's wounds on his body began vanishing while the color returned to his skin. It was as if the damage he sustained was never reality but a mirage all along.

Yugo's hair shifted from black… to grey… and then to white.

"_**Never say I didn't love you, Yuma."**_

A single teardrop slipped out as the father watched his son's health return, his smile widening all the while.

Yugo's body was robbed of all of its color. He was ashen white while still propped up on his knees.

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┬┴┬┴┤ **テイルズオブスピリッツとトリガー** ├┬┴┬┴

"_**Never say I didn't love you, Yuma."**_

_Hmm? Who would accuse you of that you old geezer?_

A vibrant warmth spread through his entire body.

A wave of memories crashed over him. They woke him from his dream-like state.

His eyes' flicked open, the nostalgic form of his father leaned before him.

"_**Dad?"**_

Despite his tragic appearance, he still had a smile carved onto his face.

Yugo's body fell apart. The scattering and collapsing remains of the man fell through the air.

"_**No!"**_ Yuma cried out.

Desperately he reached for the falling white dust in denial that his father could leave him so suddenly.

The dust slipped through his fingers and arms forming a heaping pile in Yuma's lap along with Yugo's clothing and accessories which stayed perfectly intact.

"_**Why did you save me? It was my fault you should have-"**_ He struggled folding over on top of the pile. _**"I didn't mean to… I'm so sorry."**_

A burning pain appeared in his head like both of his temples were being pressed by a red hot branding iron.

"_**Aaghhhh!"**_ Yuma shrieked. His fingertips drove into his forehead.

The tidal wave of memories loomed over and eclipsed his consciousness. He lost all control and sensibility trapped within the inner confines of his mind. It was as if an entire lifetime flashed before his eyes while the feelings and context were still all in place.

"_**Who's memories… are these?!"**_

He pulled his hair while his mind burned like a fire.

_But what hurts the worst is they'll probably scrub me from the history books and give my accomplishments to my fucking apprentice._

Trapped in his mind no longer aware of his surroundings, he experienced a memory as if it were reality.

Yuma struggled to control this tree-like body that appeared to have been merged with some sort of spirit beast. The body was unresponsive.

Gravity instead forced him to his hands and knees. His head tilted to the sky.

_Why_?

The voice felt familiar and foreign all at once.

A flash of black tore from the peripheral of his vision, before everything cut to black.

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┬┴┬┴┤ **テイルズオブスピリッツとトリガー** ├┬┴┬┴

"_**Kid? Are you good?!"**_

Yuma was shaken vigorously causing him to jolt awake.

Gaining his bearings, Yuma stared blankly at the man waiting for the gears of his mind to kick on.

"_**You alright kid? Where's the command-"**_

He recognized Lieutenant Zhao's gaze moved from himself to the pile of dust and clothing.

"_**I'm sorry…"**_ Yuma said not knowing what else he could say. Nothing could suffice, but an apology still felt better than nothing.

"_**So...He's gone huh…"**_ The man said seemingly understanding with a harrowing and solemn countenance. _**"I found this lying next to you."**_

He shoved Yugo's trigger into Yuma's hands.

"_**I… don't deserve this. You take it."**_ Yuma struggled to push it to the man against Zhao's efforts to push it back.

"_**Nope. It's all your's kid. General Yugo wouldn't have wanted it any other way, I'm certain."**_

The Lieutenant stood up and faltered for a second._** "So much for that promise commander,"**_ he whispered.

"_**What's going on?"**_ One of the many spiritualists asked.

Zhao's fist clenched the trigger in his hand tighter.

"_**General Yugo has perished. Let us all take a moment of silence in remembrance of him."**_

Zhao struck his chest in a salute, and swiftly every comrade in arms followed suit. The area fell quiet as they all held their salutes filled to the brim with their respect. A few men even shed tears while the rest fought to hold their composure.

"_**Make sure you grab everything of value from the rift before we leave. This marks the end of our expedition, we'll start heading back to Calvaria City within the hour."**_

Yuma stared at the trigger casing in his hands while guilt smothered him making it difficult to breathe.

_He must have used a top tier Inscription pattern or array to bring me back… He transferred all of his lifeforce to me so I could live. Wait, how do I even know that?_

In an attempt to recall how he knew, a memory of a man named Zenith holed up in a library studying a vast collection of written resources was retrieved.

"_**What? Why do I have these memories? Are they fathers?"**_

Memory after memory swiped by, he was searching for any type of link between Zenith and Yugo, but nothing was found.

"_**Kid… I know this has to be hard for you, but we're about to head out. You should get ready."**_

Yuma scooped up the inter-spatial ring from the pile of white dust slipping it onto a finger.

He grabbed his father's possessions and stored them inside the ring for safekeeping.

_If I ever die, I want you to visit one of my friends at Border defense agency in Mikado City._

These words were repeated often by Yugo hence why they were engraved in his heart.

Yuma stood up swallowing down his feelings of negativity.

_I guess I'll be going back to your hometown after I finish up here dad._

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┬┴┬┴┤ **テイルズオブスピリッツとトリガー** ├┬┴┬┴

Gossip among active and post duty militants could rival the cliques of most women. With questions posed from the members of Yugo's beloved private spiritualist battalion, many people were interested in discovering what had happened to Yugo.

It was rare for hunting parties to be clean from any of the regulations of attachment to nobility or Border. The freedom these men experienced underneath him while still providing upper tier to top-class management and personnel was precious. People would rightfully be afraid the loss of the commander would be the start of the decline of their unit so tensions were rising.

The news was bound to come, it didn't take long for him to see the coldness some eyes held.

Yuma was after all only adopted. Nevertheless, their resemblance was very uncanny.

Upon the last stretch of the journey, a group of men flexing in aggression walked past at a crawling speed. The three officers radiated a threatening atmosphere around them infecting the surroundings with their negativity.

"_**Shame."**_

"_**Shame…"**_ Another said bending down and spitting a yellow-brown mucus loogie on Yuma's shoe.

"_**Great general died for this trash? Adopted bronze scum."**_

Even if the battalion answered only to themselves, the men inside couldn't all be moral idealistic gentlemen. In fact, it could be said that most were not.

Yuma struggled internally having lost his only parent and the mind-boggling prospect of having access to a lifetime of someone else's memories.

Asking himself, he came to the conclusion that he was doubtlessly still Yuma Kuga, but with the understanding that he was now forever changed by this lifetime of experience.

The Dunning–Kruger effect is a cognitive bias where people expect their cognitive ability is higher than it actually is. In order to mend this disjoint in perspective and reality, there was no substitute for experience.

Youth by their nature lack a true scope of experience. With an abundance of experience now, Yuma's eyes lost their sparkling innocence. Any sentiments of heroism were lost.

_To show oneself mercy, you must destroy one's enemy completely. _

People were fickle and with the taste of betrayal freshly on his mind processing through all of these memories he would be willing to trust only after labored and extensive validation.

It was ironic how the nobles across most mega-domiciles accepted and perpetuated The growth of Border defense agency offices.

_Father always said that Border's first intention was a united peaceful front of these 'Mega-domes' in a plan called: 'Project: United Nations'._

The increase of Border office fronts meant more positions for officers and decision-makers giving the opportunity to invite greater corruption.

In today's age, most Border offices had long since succumbed to declaring themselves an existing or new branch. Each branch of Border had its own agenda and as such became the primary way to identify and distinguish each mega-dome's political alignment.

These branches fought against each other in open warfare to seize that illustrious and corrupting power.

Noble families are always trying to keep themselves ahead of the curve. They purposely held their information tightly not allowing it to be utilized by the masses even after the invention of the internet.

Some old-school families decided to shift to the more convenient storage medium that the digital age brought us to file and catalog their monstrous indexes of knowledge, but after several hackers gained access to nobility owned databases, and with the release of that data freely public online, most noble clans avoided digitizing their data.

_This was really a case of forgoing convenience to eliminate potential intel leakage._

The appeal of Border offices to nobility was not only a firmer hand in military affairs but a way to censor entire mega-domes access to the internet to ensure their secrets if ever released could be purged from their local citizens.

_The nobility could keep their civilians nice and ignorant to the world around them while they ruled with an iron fist._

Yuma was astonished at all the specs of information he overheard in the years of shadowing Yugo that snapped into place like a puzzle close to completion.

He came to realize that his conscious mind might have been unaffected, but his unconscious mind that was home to his instincts and ingrained experiences was as if it was overwritten entirely.

The three officers sneered at Yuma their entire way off.

With disgust, He flicked around his shoe slinging the loogie off his foot. It finally flew off but it shot up and stuck to the ceiling. Feeling mischievous, he folded his arms behind his head grinning. He meandered away from his awkward situation with a profound casualness to him.

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┬┴┬┴┤ **テイルズオブスピリッツとトリガー** ├┬┴┬┴

Hostilities toward Yuma was rising. Despite wanting to help his late fathers battalion in their trying time, the apparentness that he was no longer welcome by his comrades left him resigning from the group.

"_**Are you sure? Don't mind those idiots out there, they are only butthurt Yugo is gone, it'll fade after a while."**_ Lieutenant Zhao said.

"_**My father left me with something I still have to do. Perhaps one day I'll come back when I'm stronger."**_

"_**Your welcome to come back whenever if you need. Although we've both taken a heavy loss, I'm glad that if either of you could make it back it was you."**_ The lieutenant said.

Yuma suddenly had a foul taste in the back of his throat. He couldn't be sure how he knew, but something inside was certain that both things the lieutenant said were blatant lies.

"_**I'm sure Yugo would feel the same way. He was like a dad to me too, so that would make you like a brother."**_

Again Zhao's last sentence left Yuga nearly gagging.

_Side-effect? Somehow dad's side-effect was transferred to me before he died?_

Yuma had lost focus on the conversation now that he realized the other side was providing him only half-hearted lip service.

He knew that Yugo's legacy didn't reside in this unit's prosperity, but in the mission that he inherited since Yugo was deceased.

"_**Since your Yugo's next of kin, his cut from the expedition will also be paid to you. Here, let's see…"**_ He said pulling a clipboard from his desk to his face.

He swiftly rose to make his way over to a wall safe. The dial was fooled with; several clicks could be heard before it finally popped open. Zhao grabbed numerous stacks of currency from inside tossing them into an inconspicuous leather bag until it was nearly crammed full.

"_**Here."**_ The man said passing off the bag to the youth settling their affairs.

Yuma was glad to be parting ways with Zhao after discovering how superficial he was. His choice of departure from the unit he felt bittersweet about earlier changed to complete confidence. He understood it was eventual, that it was in-fact unavoidable.

_I won't trust my back to these wolves barely pretending to be my brothers._

The leather bag disappeared from his hand, sucked into the inter-spacial ring.

Yuma retreated after the conclusive meeting to his and his late father's favorite place to relax and cultivate at.

He sat on the concrete ledge on the park fountain pumping water up falling in a heavy mist to the three different leveled reservoir's separated by height into the lower, middle, and upper reservoir.

The bottom was filled with coins. These were the dreams of people left behind. Dreams left to the hands of fate rather than carried with conviction by the wisher.

Closing his eyes, he adopted a veteran cultivation stance and posture pushing his knee's out from him and bringing his hands together near his lap in front of the location of his dantian.

The energy surrounding him pulled into him easier than ever before. To his surprise, the level of his soul force evolved significantly. Comparing it to Zenith's experiences, he came to the conclusion that his Qi reserves were now at the level of a gold expert spiritualist despite only having been a 3-star bronze expert before. His innate awakening was only bronze 1-star signifying to this world a lack of talent for the cultivation arts, but now it was as if he was born an innate gold expert all along.

Innate gold experts were incomprehensibly rare. They were more often than not super-children birthed between cultivator powerhouses from the nobility. The likelihood of a child being an innate gold talent and the offspring of humble origins was the same as finding a fat golden nugget laying on the dirt. It was equivalent to winning the lottery only buying a single ticket, it only happened to people smiled on by the heavens.

_Somehow my body must have swallowed a significant portion of dad's soul force forcibly ranking me up. I'll strive to never forget your sacrifice and everything you've taught me._

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┬┴┬┴┤ **テイルズオブスピリッツとトリガー** ├┬┴┬┴

* * *

**Reviewer Question: - If you could choose your own spirit beast for yourself as a spiritualist, which species would it be? **

_Personally, my favorite ideas are: Pheonix, Dragon, Snake, Unicorn, etc... As for what I would actually pick? Probably none of these! Find out in the next chapter!_

_..._

_****SPECIAL THANKS and COMMENTS**_** to the great people below who left me a review, It means a lot!****

**-Guest - **_"__Yeah, I think Yuma, Jhin, Kageura, and Kirie are my favorite characters from WT, Yuma topping that list. Thanks for your compliments and words of encouragement.__"_

**-VoidEmperor - **_"__I don't claim to have perfect knowledge of the TODG world, but I have at least read the web novel all the way through. I clearly stated at the beginning of chapter 1 that this story is alternate universe with several changes. Also as far as cultivation caps go, IK that there are ranks past legend, but they are not available to people inside the tiny world and there won't be any ascension to higher realms in this fic, so it's capped at 5-star legend.__"_

**-Ninja6345 - **_"__Glad you seem to like what you've read so far! Your comment got me working to wrap this chapter up and do the final proofs so thank you! I hope you enjoyed this chapter too.__"_


	3. Chapter 3

**Article 3 - Chapter 3- Adoption of Form**

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┬┴┬┴┤ テイルズオブスピリッツとトリガー ├┬┴┬┴

**-Accepting Beta readers/ Editors! Hit me up with a PM-**

_**(Remember to include the stories name in your message)**_

_**A/N: Soooo… I WAS considering doing a 10k+ word chapter but figured you all would rather get the content early so here I am instead. For whatever reason, this story has really captured my attention and I can't stop myself from wanting to get it out so I can consume it too! I guess you can say I write to fulfill my needs as a consumer. I'd appreciate hearing any of your opinions. I (answer/respond) to each and every (question/comment) at the end of every chapter. Feel free to send me PM's as well as interacting with you guys brings authentic joy to my day.**_

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┬┴┬┴┤ テイルズオブスピリッツとトリガー ├┬┴┬┴

_**(Last Chapter: Excerpt)**_

The energy surrounding him pulled into him easier than ever before. To his surprise, the level of his soul force evolved significantly. Comparing it to Zenith's experiences, he concluded that his Qi reserves were now at the level of a gold expert spiritualist despite only having been a 3-star bronze expert before. His innate awakening was only bronze 1-star signifying to this world a lack of talent for the cultivation arts, but now it was as if he was born an innate gold expert all along.

Innate gold experts were incomprehensibly rare. They were more often than not super-children birthed between cultivator powerhouses from the nobility. The likelihood of a child being an innate gold talent and the offspring of humble origins was the same as finding a fat golden nugget laying on the dirt. It was equivalent to winning the lottery only buying a single ticket, it only happened to people smiled on by the heavens.

_Somehow my body must have swallowed a significant portion of dad's soul force forcibly ranking me up. I'll strive to never forget your sacrifice and everything you've taught me._

* * *

┬┴┬┴┤ **Chapter 3**├┬┴┬┴

┬┴┬┴┤ テイルズオブスピリッツとトリガー ├┬┴┬┴

Weeks past by while Yuma prepared himself to set out on his journey.

He learned at a young age that Travel is often restricted between non-allied mega-domiciles before his father finally settled on the permanent residency inside Calvaria City.

Yugo's unscrupulous methods of entering unwelcoming cities were witnessed by Yuma firsthand. In the past, nothing would prevent Yugo from entering anywhere if his mind was made up. After opening and reading a letter left behind by him Yuma was certain that he would make it back into Mikado City at any cost.

The wind swept over the reeds and weeds causing them to bend and sway. The plants whistled while Yuma stood captivated by the full moon's beauty and illumination bathing the terrain in a pearly glow.

He folded a paper along existing creases into a trifold before it sucked back into his Inter-spacial ring.

_Sōichi Mogami, head director of the secret underground Tamakoma branch, a mole Yugo helped plant deep undercover inside Mikado city's own Border office, and dad's greatest rival he trusted over anyone else… I'll find him._

Vocalizing his thoughts in his head served to solidify his resolve.

In his right hand manifested a shiny silver rectangular object and a pack of black and mild cigarettes. The Silver object flipped open revealing a flint wheel that sparked as Yuma's thumb flicked it down igniting into a dancing flame played with by the breeze.

Yuma fought to light the cig against the adversity of the wind. The tip caught fire leaving a line of blackened smoke twisting up.

Setting it on the edge of the fountain, Yuma bent down to his knees into a kowtow paying his final respects to the man who brought him into this world and gave up everything to keep him here.

The nostalgic pungent aroma that always clung to Yugo set him at ease and put him into an acceptable mental state.

Yuma's forehead kissed the ground during his bow as he struggled against the urge to blame himself for everything. His reverence went beyond mere family ties, in his heart, he knew he owed everything to this man who brought him into his home and accepted him as a legitimate son.

"_**Your sacrifice won't be in vain, I promise I'll see your dream realized with my own eyes."**_

Pulling himself up and walking off, His footfalls dropped quicker and quicker carrying him forward to the gated checkpoint.

After 10 minutes of walking, the checkpoint was before his eyes.

A grandiose archway supported a pair of metallic airtight doors embedded in the reinforced military grade plexiglass dome. The clear dome stretched in every direction overhead. Despite the vastness of the Mega-dome and being there to protect them from spirit beasts and enemy invasions, it wasn't uncommon for some residents to complain of feeling claustrophobic. Others were inspired to gain enough power to journey out and see the world for themselves.

Ever since the dark ages began more than a hundred years ago the wilderness became increasingly inhospitable. Spirit beasts reined over the earth as the domineering apex predator while humanity was forced into hiding within the safety of mobile city fortresses.

The two guards stationed at each side of the gate sent a questioning glance at the youth approaching them.

"_**Oi! This is a restricted zone kid, turn around and skat." **_The left guard announced twirling a finger in the air in emphasis.

Yuma stopped in place, his mouth pulling into a superficial grin.

"_**Don't you want to see this before you chase me off?"**_Yuma said opening out his hand.

Light glistened off the badge that phased into reality appearing in his hand. Embedded diamonds in the shape of a large 'B' caught the moonlight illuminating the gems like they were luminescent.

Both guards eyes jumped open, one choking on their breath as their relaxed posture jolted into attention.

"_**My apologies for my partner's disrespect lord."**_ The other shouted as he slammed the handle of his spear into the shin of the guard to Yuma's left. _**"Do you need us to open the gate for you, my lord?"**_

"_**That's the plan."**_

The right guard, who took it upon himself to reproach his colleague, laid his hand on the biometric scanner nodding to his partner following suit at his own side's scanner. After some beeps and a few button presses, the sound of air hissing from the decompression of the checkpoint's doors airlock could be heard as they creaked open.

"_**Authentication successful. Doors are opening, please stand clear."**_A mechanical voice chirped.

"_**Thanks,"**_ Yuma said wearing a mischievous smile.

"_**No, thank you! Erm -M'lord."**_ The guard on the left announced with a hint of sweat pooling over his brow.

Without another word, Yuma stepped out of the mobile fortress onto the elevator platform. With a buzz, the platform wenched down releasing him into the wilderness.

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┬┴┬┴┤ テイルズオブスピリッツとトリガー ├┬┴┬┴

Snow white feathers rustled with each flap of wings. A white, gray striped crane beat their wings bringing them over the peak of a mountain revealing this new side as well as the gigantic brown earthy valley devoid of trees or shrubs below.

A rattling bugle called out from the bird echoing off the tall local terrain.

The bird pulled into a dive swooping down picking up speed.

Settled in the valley was a domed mobile city. Modern skyscrapers stood erect behind the translucent dome as well as elegant and well-conceived architecture. The city itself looked like it was divided into two, the dome appearing as two humps instead of the universal hemispherical shape. A massive chasm split the city down the middle with a golden suspension bridge connecting them.

The crane glided through the air until reaching the mobile fortress swooping underneath it. Numerous black 50-meter mechanical carbon-infused steel stilts held the city level above ground and luckily they were currently anchored at a standstill.

From beneath it became apparent the chasm had no bottom, only empty open space. The thick metal wires held both halves of the city together.

The crane shot upwards into the chasm climbing altitude.

A white misty curtain appeared in the blink of an eye. The momentum the bird carried and the suddenness of the appearance of the barrier left few options for avoidance.

Electric current poured into the bird. The bird remained perfectly fine as if not taking damage whatsoever. Without having a route to ground the connection, the current couldn't show it's tyrannical might.

A loud harmonizing buzz rang out, the voltage of the electric current rising exponentially. Cracks and pops from the erratic nature of the electricity played in the air. The mounting power behind the barrier climbed and a bolt of yellow struck the bird again, this time continuing it's travel down, down, crashing into the earth.

The bird's muscles convulsed and spasmed uncontrollably. The world spun around the crane as it entered a freefall still twitching and gasping for air all the while.

Through the circulation of Qi, the shock faded and motor functionality partially returned.

The bird flapped their wings fighting against gravity into ascent once more. As it approached where it met the barrier last time, the climb stalled. A white light flashed bathing the surroundings, the crane undergoing a metamorphosis. The body of the bird lengthened and shifted, feathers disappeared replaced by midnight black hair, skin, and a uniform.

With Yuma's trigger clenched in hand, his other hand stretched out shooting a wire that sailed through the air. The wire wrapped around one of the long thick suspension wires holding the two halves of the mobile fortress together supporting his weight as he dangled 40 meters in the air.

The wind crashing into him caused him to sway back and forth in an exaggerated fashion. He looked like he was a daredevil testing a swing with inadvisable safety oversight.

The wire Yuma clung to creaked under his weight as he retrieved a scroll from his inter-spatial ring.

Opening up the scroll, Yuma sent a stream of his Qi into the parchment activating the inscription pattern.

A glowing radiant Kanji appeared from the inscription pattern. Yuma reared his arm back launching the magical parchment up. The inscription pattern crashed against the barrier causing sparks and jolts of current to branch out. The thick white mist charged with electrical current flashed an ominous red. A minuscule tear in the barrier formed and widened creating a pocket half a meter in radius.

White light flashed once more, the boy shifting into a bird again taking off through the gap in the barriers defense and into the confines of Mikoto City.

* * *

┬┴┬┴┤ テイルズオブスピリッツとトリガー ├┬┴┬┴

Yuma found himself in awe with baited breaths appreciating the marvel that was this city's existence. Never before had Yuma visited a grander Mega-domed mobile fortress. A youthful excitement rushed over him before the feeling was killed by his subconscious. The wonder fading into apathetic acceptance remembering his goal for coming here in the first place.

As he meandered through the streets, Neon lights of numerous different colors met his eyes in a pleasurable welcoming aesthetic. Advertisements were posted here and there: physical storefronts, cellular device apps, and websites making up the vast majority.

"_**E-bay?"**_ Yuma read from an advertisement out loud.

A torrent of confusion washed over him. The technological might this city held was in Yuma's opinion self-evident by the flippant use of it everywhere the eye could see as if it was mundane to the umpteenth degree.

Civilians rushed by in clusters, their eyes glued to the screens of their phones. The rawr of mingled voices meshed together into a sloppy incoherent auditory blur.

Yuma's eyes fell on each person's telecom device while his face betrayed his efforts to mask his confusion.

Standing on his tippy toes, he walked alongside a group looking over shoulders to get a peek of these next-gen smartphones.

"_**Hm? The fuck outa here freak." **_a person said distancing themselves from Yuma after noticing him snooping over their shoulder.

"_**Sorry, My bad!"**_ Yuma retorted putting his hands together in apology.

Adjusting to his new surroundings, Yuma walked aimlessly through the city streets for some time until stumbling upon a screen with an excess of a 70-inch display showing a condensed map of the local area.

Fiddling with it, the touch screen display allowed him to finger and pinch around navigating through in an attempt to memorize the outlay and figure out the location of this city's Border office.

Without much difficulty, he found what he was looking for and set off to see it in person.

Yuma made his way to the entrance of the restricted zone, a sign posted stating:_** "Authorized Personel Only."**_

Large concrete guard rails were laid out in a line with about a half meter of clearance between each. They were painted completely with yellow and black stripes with white lettering that spelled out _**"Caution."**_

Loitering around the edge of the restricted zone, Yuma occupied himself for a bit before noticing a figure casually stride out of the restricted zone in a standard Border uniform.

Yuma made his way over to the obvious Border agent while the man spotted him flashing him a questioning glance.

"_**Wow! I'm a big fan of Border agents and I can tell that you're pretty strong! One day I hope to make it into Border just like you. Would it be okay for me to shake your hand?"**_

The red-headed young adult followed Yuma's eyes to his squad's badge displaying his rank of 'B'.

The man's cool blue eyes softened and his air of unease vanished like the wind. His posture perked up with a faint smirk walking over and resting a hand on Yuma's shoulders.

"_**Sure brother."**_ He said reaching out his arm and embracing hands. _**"I even made it into B rank as a commoner without having the backing of any nobility or aristocrats. I worked my ass off and now I'm here. Keep your nose to the grindstone and one day you'll find your way in too. Remember... Stay diligent and cultivate. Consistency is the key."**_

Yuma nodded with energy soaking up the words of the agent with irises shining with respect.

"_**Thanks for the encouragement brother. I was lucky that the first agent I found was an awesome one like you. I'll remember you for sure and show you I can make it… err, what was your name? Haha, sorry."**_

The man's back straightened even further in response to his stroked ego.

"_**Don't mind, don't mind. I'll be waiting to see you in our ranks! And by the way, my name is Tetsuji Arafune, but because we're brothers, I'll let you call me Tetsuji - you hear?"**_He said squeezing Yuma's shoulder a bit for emphasis before winking and heading off.

As the man left, Yuma's mask of exuberance slipped off mellowing out into indifference.

Yuma poked off into an alleyway swinging his neck around to be sure to be out of eyesight and in the blindspot of the street-cams linked to Border HQ.

Yuma pulled a black metal heft out of his pocket with his back turned to the main alleyway's entrance.

"_**Trigger on!"**_

Yuma's body shimmered leaking a burst of white light like the flash of a camera. His body stretched adopting a new build and structure. Muscles lengthened and inflated, his black hair replaced by shorter red hair and a black curved bill hat resting on his head. Cool blue eye's stared back at him from the reflection of tranquil water pooled in a pothole.

Dipping out of the alleyway, he took a nervous breath before he stepped past the warnings and entered the restricted zone with as much confidence as he could delude himself to have.

Walking into the restricted zone lifted some kind of masking illusion. The largest building Yuma had ever seen revealed itself. It was completely square extending from the ground up at least 30 or 40 stories plus it was equally long and wide.

Yuma found that his rapidly beating heart relaxed, a cool chill climbing up his spine making him fidget and twitch for a brief second before killing the feeling and burying it deep down inside him.

_Nothing can mess with my mission. Zenith wouldn't let this affect him, so I won't let it either._

Each step closer was a tiny percentage of his mission being completed. It brought him closer to realizing his goal eliciting warmth in his core.

Arriving at the doors he walked past a few agents talking or distracted doing their own thing not giving the transformed Yuma the time of day.

Seeing the Biometric scanner at the door, Yuma shoved his palm into the reader. A long wire with a black round cam attached poked out of the wall reaching eye level and stopping. It streamed a blue grid of light confirming the iris digital templates were inside the encoded database.

Yuma's memory had salvaged many things he had forgotten after forcibly evolving his soul force. This was one of the things salvaged which played through his head as the LED above the scanner module blinked green and the doors peeled open allowing him entry.

_Even though I remember how this stuff works, it really just doesn't make sense. My comprehension of the subject is nonexistent really… Maybe I'm technologically challenged or something?_

After stepping through the doorway, the doors closing behind him hissed shut.

Yuma swallowed instinctively as he was now in the heart of enemy territory disguised as one of their own.

Long white bland hallways extended as far as his eyes could see. Every door and off branching hallway looked identical passing them.

His internal map of the office from the picture in his head constructed when seeing the building from the outside and committing it to memory skewed losing track of how far he came.

He wandered and wandered feeling no closer to his goal since he stepped inside of the border office. If anything it was like he was the furthest from his goal now since his arrival in Mikoto City.

Riding the elevators up a floor one by one, he explored the building floor by floor. He passed agents frequently but fortunate for him each never bothered to question him or strike up a conversation.

Eventually, he wandered into a humongous open area filled with Virtual Reality stalls and innumerable spectator monitors displaying ongoing Solo versus ranked war matches. This room was packed to the brim nearing max capacity.

Hundreds if not thousands of people were swamped together chatting and engaged with the current Solo matches on display. A majority of the people sported the plain white C rank uniform indicating that they were still trainees.

"_**Captain!"**_ A voice called out from behind him. _**"I thought you said you were picking up dinner for your parents. Were you just trying to ditch us again?"**_

Yuma spun around to catch a dirty blonde teen with narrow cat-like pupils, wearing their black curved bill hat backwards, staring at him with a frown.

"_**There was something I wanted to do earlier and I completely forgot. I need to lookup an agent but I don't want to trouble any of you guys."**_

"_**Wow, you're really worried about our next upcoming match, huh Cap? Don't worry, I'll show you the fruits of my dedication just like you said."**_ The teen said slapping his bicep while flexing.

"_**Haha, You will, will you?"**_ Yuma snickered._** "That's great, but I still need to do my due diligence as our captain don't you think?"**_

The teen's eyes shone with admiration and respect pulling his arms into his chest while spacing out. He seemed to spring back to attention fervently nodding in agreement while starting to slap their bicep again with a cheeky grin.

"_**This is why your the brains and I'm the muscle Cap."**_

"_**Who says I can't be the brain's AND the muscle?"**_

"_**No fair! This isn't a time to be greedy." **_He said before pulling his lips into an 'O' pouting.

"_**I'm just playing. Hmm… where should I go to get the intel I'm looking for…"**_

"_**Are you feelin' okay Tetsuji senpai? Why don't you just go to the personnel office and chat up that pretty secretary like you always do?"**_

Yuma struck his hand into his palm in a moment of eureka.

_Thank you!_

He leaned over ushering his pretend comrade closer with an air of secrecy.

"_**Shhhhh… You didn't hear this from me okay? I made a bet with her that we would win without her help this time. Its a secret so don't you go yapping that mouth of yours. In fact, pretend like I never told you, okay brother?"**_ Yuma said with a wink and a cheerful grin.

"_**Mhmm! Mhmm!" **_The teen said nodding his head vigorously with the flame of pride radiating from his gaze. The subordinate struck a thumbs up pose finishing with:_** "The Cap's secrets are always safe with me!"**_

"_**I hope so. Don't let me down. I'll catch you later. Pretend you didn't see me huh?" **_Yuma finished with another wink.

"_**Huh? Never saw who?" **_He said sending back a knowing wink of his own before glancing off to each side of him pretending to be looking elsewhere.

Yuma slipped out of the Solo Rank Wars VR room and now had a concrete destination in mind, he just needed to figure out where it was located and all would be great.

After some time, he came across a floorplan with emergency escape routes marked with red arrows. Luckily the floorplan had labels for rooms, and Yuma's scanning eyes stopped at the words 'Personel Office and Public Records.'

Making his way up another five additional floors on the elevator and following the hallways to his destination, a sign hanging overhead read: _**"Personnel Office and Public Records."**_

Walking through the archway into the personnel office, a woman seated behind the main desk glanced over taking notice of her new visitor.

"_**Back again so soon?"**_ The woman asked with a mocking smirk. _**"What would you do without me?"**_

The young woman leaned back in her chair, her black hair riddled with intermittent blue-dyed strips were whipped out of her face with a flick of her neck. Her square glasses shifted around on her small nose before she reached up pressing them back up with a finger.

"_**I would be like a lost puppy don't you know?"**_ He said resting the back of his palm on his head before gauging her reaction.

"_**Your such a goober. No matter how many times you ask you're not getting me to be your new operator Arafune."**_

"_**Tetsuji." **_Yuma sternly corrected. _**"-I'd rather if you called me Tetsuji."**_

"_**Pshhhht. Only in your dreams buddy. So, what do you want or is this just another one of your unsuccessful attempts to flirt with me?"**_

"_**Maybe you look up a name? Hmm?" **_Yuma pressed pulling out his best impression of puppy dog eyes hoping to soften her up.

"_**Don't give me that crap."**_ She said giggling. She pulled her keyboard closer to herself, her focus shifting back to her monitor. _**"Name?"**_

"_**Sōichi Mogami."**_

_**She seemed to struggle typing the last name, Yuma reached out with a hand to the keyboard to finish the name for her.**_

_**SLAP. **_Her hand swatted Yuma's away before he could even touch her keyboard.

"_**What er' ya doin' you schmuck?! Hands off."**_

"_**Ha! Don't mind, Don't mind," **_Yuma said reaching for the back of his head feinting nervousness.

The woman's face softened a bit witnessing the change of demeanor, her face turning a shade of pink as her eyes darted back and forth between her monitor and Yuma.

Her gaze pulled together into a confused focus after striking the enter key.

"_**Huh? No records?"**_

"_**No Records?!"**_ Yuma burst out unable to hold himself back.

"_**Uhh… wait… hmm… looks like… so then… okay." **_The woman mumbled.

"_**So? Did you find anything?"**_

Yuma couldn't help but shift his weight from one foot to the other as his impatience overwhelmed him.

"**Yeah! **_**Sōichi Konami! Duuuuhhh, I didn't realize this was his last name before he married the director's Ex-wife. Most of the information here is redacted, I'm afraid it won't be much help for you. Sorry, not sorry." **_She said poking her cute pink tongue out of her mouth.

"_**Does it show any contact info or any way I might be able to get in touch with him?"**_

"_**Hmm… Let's see here… Uhh… Only thing I'm seeing here is that he's head of the Research and Development Department now. Sorry, not sorry..."**_

"_**Oh well. Thanks for the help anyways. Maybe as a consolation prize, you'd like to become the operator for my squad?"**_

"_**Here we go again…"**_

"_**Sorry, not sorry," **_Yuma mimicked with a cheeky smile.

* * *

┬┴┬┴┤ テイルズオブスピリッツとトリガー ├┬┴┬┴

**Reviewer Question: - Who is your favorite character of all time? What about that character makes them so memorable and likable for you? **

_PS. I told you all that you'd find out what Spirit Beast Yuma inherited from his father this chapter, but we didn't quite get to it, so I'll spoil you this one time!_

_**Spirit:**__ Elder Doppelgänger Monarch_

_**Abilities:**__ Able to copy and sustain 70% of any single trigger's ability that it has ever been in contact with. The second ability allows one to adopt the appearance of anyone or anything the owner has come into personal contact with._

_..._

_****SPECIAL THANKS and COMMENTS**_** to the great people below who left me a review, It means a lot!****

**-SteveTheBeast - **_"__Yeah. I had an idea for an original work, but since it was sort of a combination of existing idea's I figured why not try my hand at my first crossover and see what happens. Thanks for your support brother, I'm happy to see you stop by. Yeah, just remember if you watch TOGD that season 2 isn't canon. You can literally just skip it since its complete filler.__"_


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